When Mahavishnu appears before Dhruva, pleased with the boy devotee’s penance, Dhruva praises the Lord. Dhruva says that the Lord is present in everyone as Antaryami. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says He is inside us and commands us. Whatever we do, He is the One who enables us to do them. Now we may well ask whether the Lord then is responsible for all our wrong actions too. In fact, Duryodhana does ask this question, said Akkarakkani Srinidhi, in a discourse. He tries to justify his actions by saying that he was not the one who acted. It was the One inside him who prompted him to act the way he did. But this is a wrong argument, and is born of misunderstanding the import of the statement that the Lord is in charge of everything.
The jiva has the independence to make decisions. It is up to us to analyse which are good deeds and which are bad deeds, and act accordingly. The Sastras have been given to us in order to guide us. They speak of what is desirable and what is not. We must, therefore, pay heed to the Sastras. We must also be guided by the words of wise men. We have independence in our efforts. The Lord is an observer. Whatever we do, we pay for it. If our acts are sinful, we have bad experiences in the subsequent births, and if our acts are not sinful, we have pleasing experiences in subsequent births. The Lord ensures that we face results according to our karma. That is the central idea that we must understand. This is what Dhruva is speaking about. We need His grace even to praise Him. Vibhishana tells Ravana that when good advice is given, there is none to heed it. When there are people prepared to follow good advice, there is none to give wise counsel. For both to come together, we need the mercy of the Omniscient Lord, who is not subject to karma.
